George Michael to sue over 'cruising' claim

[jimnysf]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 4:48pm

I'm glad to see he is willing to accept an older man.


http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/story_pages/news/news1.shtml#

GEORGE'S SEX SHAME

By Neville Thurlbeck

MEGA-RICH pop superstar George Michael this week sank to new levels of depravity—trawling for illegal gay sex thrills in a London park.

News of the World investigators caught the singer red-handed and red-faced as he emerged from the bushes after cavorting with a pot-bellied, 58-year-old, jobless van driver.

When challenged George, 43, was wild-eyed and trembling. Trying to hide his face under a baseball cap, he screamed:

"I don't believe it! F*** off! If you put those pictures in the paper I'll sue!"

CHECK OUT OUR SEX SHAME SLIDESHOW HERE



Minutes earlier the one-time heart-throb had been lurking in the shadows at the notorious homosexual pick-up spot on Hampstead Heath.

George is a man with the world at his feet. He's on the brink of a lucrative 50-concert comeback tour, which sold out in half an hour.

Yet he ignored all the risks and dangers to pull seedy Norman Kirtland.

The pair kissed and groped each other before going even further. It was all in a public place and totally illegal — just like the day in 1998 when George flashed at an undercover cop in a California park toilet.

After the shock of being confronted by us, George stumbled to his flash Mercedes coupe, retrieved his keys from their hiding place on top of the rear wheel and roared off into the night — back to his world of showbiz, celebs and glitz.

Grubby



Meanwhile his new buddy Kirtland crept from the undergrowth looking sheepish and rushed to his Ford Transit van. As he opened the door a grubby, stained mattress was clearly visible in the back.

We later tracked him to his home 60 miles away—a squalid flat in Brighton, East Sussex.

Looking gross and dishevelled, Kirtland answered the door naked — pulling on grimy shorts as he invited us in.

The contrast with George Michael's opulent, high-roller rock lifestyle was stark.

George, whose family is Greek-Cypriot, has amassed a £70million fortune from sales of records including I Want Your Sex and Careless Whisper. He owns a £5million London town house and a £4million Beverly Hills mansion.

Kirtland's dingy place just off Brighton seafront, was littered with rubbish, dirty crockery and filthy laundry. His only companion is a 20-year-old cat.

He told us: "I don't even like George Michael. And I didn't recognise him immediately.

"He sort of came up and got close. He looked kind of brown so I said to him, ‘You're not totally English, are you?'

"I told him I'd come all the way up from Brighton and he said, ‘What? Isn't Brighton good enough for this sort of thing?'

"I told him it's highly dangerous at 2am. You'd get your throat cut.

"He told me I could contact him on the Gaydar website and we just started kissing.

"He did it very well. That was one of his major points. Then it was fondling and mutual pleasuring. It wasn't full sex but it was fantastic."

Kirtland's confession then took a bizarre twist as he bragged: "There's a secret that I have which no one knows about. It's a personal thing.

"Most people pull away from it. But George actually seemed to respond.

"When we'd finished he said, ‘I've got to go. I've got to go somewhere and chill out.' And that was that.

"OK, I admit I was there for sex. But I'm astonished a man as famous as George should even think about doing it. It's potentially so dangerous."

George's night of shame began just after midnight on Tuesday when he took a short drive from his Highgate house to the Hampstead home of long-term lover Kenny Goss.

Five minutes later he drove to the nearby heath and spent two hours prowling around before hooking up with Kirtland.

When confronted by our team, a shaken George desperately tried to justify his sordid secret quest for cheap, risky thrills, which friends fear is spiralling out of control and threatening his destruction.

In a sweat, the ashen-faced singer declared: "Are you gay? No? Then f*** off! This is my culture!"

Then he claimed: "I'm not doing anything illegal. The police don't even come up here any more.

"I'm a free man, I can do whatever I want. I'm not harming anyone."

But George's worried pals say the former Wham! frontman is the one being harmed.

After the California cottaging scandal, George escaped a six-month jail term but was sentenced to community service plus sex therapy to curb his habits.

It obviously hasn't worked. In February this year he was cautioned by police for possessing cannabis after being found slumped in his car by London's Hyde Park Corner at 1.50am.

Weeks later we snapped him driving erratically and he appeared to fall asleep at traffic lights.

One friend said last night: "We're really concerned. It's long been known he's a heavy cannabis user but we're beginning to fear the pot may have affected his mind. He's lost his judgment. He must seek professional help or things could end very badly for him.

"He's just asking for serious trouble. One day he'll be attacked in one of these dodgy late-night encounters.

"It's so sad to see a talented guy wasting himself like this."




FLING: He romped with 58-year-old

Updated On: 7/28/06 at 04:48 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 5:32pm

I'm speechless.

[Dabadoll]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 5:56pm

He seems to be freefalling to Britney Spears levels. Damn shame.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 5:58pm

I missed the report of Spears having sex with a stranger in the bushes.

Posted: 7/23/06 at 6:03pm

i thought it was parody til i clicked the link.

the ladies of bananrama are friends with him, cant they stage an intervention?

[pab]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 6:15pm

God, he is so passe that I thought this was an Arrested Development thread.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 6:40pm

Someone call Ginger Spice. Aren't they best mates?

[lifeisacabaret]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 6:58pm

Him and his (much fitter) boyfriend have been shagging other people for years- their exploits in London are legendary. I doubt Kenny is very surprised by this.

[junglered]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 10:56pm

GM is a talented artist who obviously is crying for help. GM has a rich, beautiful voice and a knack for stylish musical arrangements. Unfortunately, he seems to have made one poor decision after another in recent years. I hope that he will seek out professional assistance and the surround himself with a positive, healthy environment soon.

Posted: 7/23/06 at 11:11pm

I can't believe these two pictures are of the same man. What a waste.
----------------------------------------------------------

ok. here's one that isn't re-touched

Updated On: 7/24/06 at 11:11 PM

[LionessInWinter]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 11:12pm

Oh my. I truly thought this was a joke, Weekly World News style, even for a little bit after I read it at the link.
That's just so, so sad.

[Kristie-K2]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 11:58pm

How sad, what a wonderful artist.....I just don't understand having sex in the bushes. Can't he go to a bar and pick up a guy and go to a hotel?.....oh my... the bushes are dirty with bugs. I just don't understand!!
Updated On: 7/23/06 at 11:58 PM

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 12:39am

What is "sad" is that this is even news. So what? The guy is into anonymous sex out of doors. Who is he hurting? Let him get off how he wants, as long as they are both of age and it's consensual.

And Chita, I think it is really unfair to compare a studio portrait done professionally with a lighting, make-up and hair person to a candid photo done in the dark with a flash of someone who obviously didn't want their picture taken.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 8:52am

On my next trip to London, I would love to spend Sunday in the park with George.

[once a month]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 9:25am

Pal Joey....

you gave me my chuckle for the day! Thanks!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 11:42am

UPDATE....


I'm not doing anything illegal. The police don't even come here any more', said Michael

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=397227&in_page_id=1773&in_a_source=


Erratic George Michael's new shame
By NICOLE LAMPERT, Daily Mail

09:21am 24th July 2006

There are new fears for George Michael after he was discovered having an illicit encounter with a stranger in a London park.

The 43-year-old star was caught emerging from the bushes after a sexual encounter with pot-bellied jobless van driver Norman Kirtland on the notorious homosexual haunt Hampstead Heath.

Michael's new shame echoes the incident which revealed his sexuality to the world - and which also led to him losing millions of fans - when he was caught trying to have sex in a California public toilet by an undercover policeman in 1998.

And it follows the star's erratic behaviour in recent months which has seen him being charged with possession of cannabis after being found slumped at the wheel of his car in Hyde Park and investigated by police for colliding with three parked cars and not informing their owners.
The star, who is due to enter a civil partnership with long-term lover Kenny Goss in the next few weeks, was caught in the illegal act in the early hours of Tuesday morning by the News Of The World.

The newspaper pictured him returning from the encounter to his car where - incredibly - he had left the keys on a wheel.

He said: "Are you gay? No? Then f*** off! This is my culture! I'm not doing anything illegal. The police don't even come here any more."

But even Kirtland expressed his surprise at coming across the world-famous singer on the heath, saying: "I admit I was there for sex. But I'm astonished a man as famous as George should even think about doing it. It's potentially so dangerous."

Sex in public places is illegal if it is likely that it can be witnessed by a third party.

Michael's lover Goss answered the door at the multi-millionaire singer's £5million mansion in Highgate, just a mile away from Hampstead Heath.

'As far as he is concerned, that is what gay men do'

Looking visibly distressed he said: "George is not going to say anything today. He has already said what he wants. This is behind us. That is everything we are going to say on the subject. We are getting on with the rest of our lives."

Michael's shame comes just after he had some good career news - when more than 200,000 tickets for his first concerts in 15 years sold out within half an hour.

Record company sources said they had tried to get the singer to calm down - but he does not believe he is doing any wrong.

"Until George realises he has a problem there is not a lot we can do," said one. "He thinks there is nothing wrong with the odd bit of cannabis use and he also thinks there is nothing wrong with having sex with strangers.

"As far as he is concerned, that is what gay men do and I don't think this is going to change his habits.

"All that has happened is that is going to feel increasingly victimised."

During an interview with Michael Parkinson in April, Michael, who is believed to be worth £50million, pinned the blame for his problems on Sir Elton John and the media for turning his life into a 'soap opera'.

He said: "Elton said he thought I was miserable for some reason and I have been trying to prove that I'm not ever since. The subtext to it is always, 'He was all right before he came out and now he lives this depraved gay life and is miserable and fat' and from that point on I have suffered this kind of wishful thinking from the Press."

Michael is due to enter a civil partnership with Goss on their ten year anniversary later this year but he has admitted that the pair are not faithful to each other.

When he announced the pair were to wed he said: "Gay relationships are a bit different. I'm sure we'll be allowed to roam if we want to. But we love each other dearly."

A police spokesman said they were not planning to investigate as Michael had not been caught by an officer and no complaint had been made.

Last night in a statement Michael said: "This story is total bulls*** but it is nice to know that the News of The World is still so concerned for my well being."

His publicist would not comment on why he disputed the allegations or whether he was going to sue.

Posted: 7/24/06 at 12:01pm

How his standards have fallen-- Jobless, pot bellied 58 year old van driver....Are we sure we're talking George MICHAEL and not George Costanza?

[blueroses]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 12:04pm

"What is "sad" is that this is even news. So what? The guy is into anonymous sex out of doors. Who is he hurting? Let him get off how he wants, as long as they are both of age and it's consensual."

I disagree. It seems desperate and unsafe and, worse, I think it's a slap in the face to his partner. The press in England is VICIOUS--George should really know better now--especially after what he's been through in the past! Will I still see him in concert if he goes on tour? Well, yeah. I love his voice, think he's an amazing talent and I'm a longtime fan *dusts off CHOOSE LIFE t-shirt* But something like this can only harm his image, and it makes me sad for him.

P.S. PJ, that was very funny. Sunday in the Park with George suddenly takes on a whole new meaning...

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 12:27pm

"the notorious homosexual haunt Hampstead Heath."

ooh, good alliteration.

[DAME]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 12:34pm

That periodical is the equivalent of National Enquirer or worst.. The Globe.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 12:36pm

I want to know how the photographer got the pictures. Was he standing around in the bushes waiting for a celeb to show up?

[blueroses]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 12:37pm

Kirtland seemed ALL too eager to spill. I wonder how much they paid him.

[soapguy17]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 12:42pm

I loved George Michael. I'm a little sad that I read this.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 1:03pm

"Gay relationships are a bit different. I'm sure we'll be allowed to roam if we want to. But we love each other dearly."

I appreciate that he speaks for all gay relationships. Jackass!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:35pm

I agree with Sueleen. C'mon, let the man have a personal life. It is totally his business and no one else's what he does in his bedroon or the bushes. Seriously! As far as it being unfair to his partner, it is pretty clear that they have an open relationship, so no harm, no foul. If there were cameras lurking everytime you hooked up, I'm sure there would be unflattering photos as well. Don't fault George for trying to get his groove on. Although his partner in the bushes is not my taste, I'm sure we've all had trysts that left us scratching our heads.